Diamond DA 42 Twin Star, G-CTCH, 7 January 2014
Diamond DA 42 Twin Star, G-CTCH
Summary:
After a “competent” landing by his student, the instructor intended for him to go around and reached for the flap switch to retract the flaps to TAKEOFF. Instead, he inadvertently moved the landing gear lever to UP and, although he quickly realised his mistake and returned the lever to DOWN, the right main gear had unlocked and collapsed at a speed of about 60 kt. The aircraft yawed to the right, leaving the runway and travelling onto the grass before coming to a halt, with damage to the right wing tip, right aileron, tail skid and the right propeller.
The aircraft is fitted with a ‘weight-on-wheels’ switch on the left oleo, which should prevent gear retraction on the ground. In this case it is likely that, at an airspeed of 60 kt, the combination of landing flap and a crosswind component from the left probably made the aircraft very light on that side and the ‘weight-on-wheels’ switch had not been made. The pilot, who stated that he had performed this procedure “hundreds of times”, could only attribute the accident to a reduction of his alertness, possibly brought on by his confidence in his student’s ability.
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